The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:665] From: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / To: Mr Macdougal Dunollan / Regarding: Mr Macdougal Dunollan (Mr Macdougal Dunollan's brother) (Patient) / 9 November 1782 / (Outgoing)
Reply, for 'Mr Macdougal Dunollan'. The letter is addressed to Mr Macdougal, who appears to possess medical knowledge, and concerns his brother. Cullen describes the patient's fits as 'of the Epileptic kind', but states that he will need to see the progression of the disease before deciding on the best course of treatment. In the meantime, he suggests 'reducing every circumstance of a plethoric state'.
- Facsimile
- Normalized Text
- Diplomatic Text
- Metadata
- Case
- People
- Places
Facsimile
There are 2 images for this document.
[Page 1]
[Page 2]
Metadata
| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| DOC ID | 665 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/1/15/150 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Outgoing |
| Date | 9 November 1782 |
| Annotation | None |
| Type | Machine copy |
| Enclosure(s) | No enclosure(s) |
| Autopsy | No |
| Recipe | No |
| Regimen | No |
| Letter of Introduction | No |
| Case Note | No |
| Summary | Reply, for 'Mr Macdougal Dunollan'. The letter is addressed to Mr Macdougal, who appears to possess medical knowledge, and concerns his brother. Cullen describes the patient's fits as 'of the Epileptic kind', but states that he will need to see the progression of the disease before deciding on the best course of treatment. In the meantime, he suggests 'reducing every circumstance of a plethoric state'. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | No |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:1546] |
Case of the brother of Mr Macdougal of Dunollan, who has epileptic fits. |
2 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:1] | Author | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:5019] | Addressee | Mr Macdougal Dunollan |
| [PERS ID:5020] | Patient | Mr Macdougal Dunollan (Mr Macdougal Dunollan's brother) |
| [PERS ID:5019] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Mr Macdougal Dunollan |
| [PERS ID:1] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:5019] | Patient's Relative / Spouse / Friend | Mr Macdougal Dunollan |
Places linked to this document
| Role in document | Specific Place | Settlements / Areas | Region | Country | Global Region | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Writing | Cullen's House / Mint Close | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain |
Normalized Text
Mr Macdougal Dunollan
I am very concerned for your distress
which in the case of a brother must be very considerable.
I shall be extremely desirous to contribute to everything in
my power to relieve both him and you, but being in the
country for two days past I could not answer your letter
till now. I am quite of opinion, that the fit you des¬
cribe was of the Epileptic kind, tho the deliquium was
greater and of longer continuance than usual. What
is best to be done for him I cannot say fully or positively
till we shall see more of ↑the↑ disease. In the meantime I be¬
gin the treatment of such cases by making sure of re¬
ducing every circumstance of a plethoric state. As your
brother is ↑naturally↑ robust and accustomed to a great deal of exercise
he must have full blood vessels and therefore think you will
have done right if you have repeated your bloodlettings
or at least that you Should do so unless you find symptoms
to forbid it I think it will also be advisable to purge
[Page 2]
him several times. As he was formerly accustomed to bear
these evacuations when troubled with the pains of his stomach
I expect he will bear them better now. Beside these eva¬
cuations pushed more or less as you Shall judge proper the
only other remedy I would propose at present is a milk &
vegetable diet without any animal food and at least this to
be tried for three or four weeks to come and after that we
shall determine according to what happens to the patient
in the mean time. At the same time and especially
during this violent season your brother should avoid all
violent exercise and tho he is by no means to be confined
to the house he should avoid being exposed to any inclement
weather. As I expect to hear from you soon again I shall
both be better able to advise & shall always be ready to
advise {illeg} as I can being most sincerely
[your?] most obedient servant.
Diplomatic Text
Mr Macdougal Dunollan
I am very concerned for your distress
which in the case of a brother must be very considerable.
I shall be extremely desirous to contribute to everything in
my power to relieve both him and you, but being in the
country for two days past I could not answer your letter
till now. I am quite of opinion, that the fit you des¬
cribe was of the Epileptic kind, tho the deliquium was
greater and of longer continuance than usual. What
is best to be done for him I cannot say fully or positively
till we shall see more of ↑the↑ disease. In the meantime I be¬
gin the treatment of such cases by making sure of re¬
ducing every circumstance of a plethoric state. As your
brother is ↑naturally↑ robust and accustomed to a great deal of exercise
he must have full blood vessels and therefore think you will
have done right if you have repeated your bloodlettings
or at least that you Should do so unless you find symptoms
to forbid it I think it will also be advisable to purge
[Page 2]
him several times. As he was formerly accustomed to bear
these evacuations when troubled with the pains of his stomach
I expect he will bear them better now. Beside these eva¬
cuations pushed more or less as you Shall judge proper the
only other remedy I would propose at present is a milk &
vegetable diet without any animal food and at least this to
be tried for three or four weeks to come and after that we
shall determine according to what happens to the patient
in the mean time. At the same time and especially
during this violent season your brother should avoid all
violent exercise and tho he is by no means to be confined
to the house he should avoid being exposed to any inclement
weather. As I expect to hear from you soon again I shall
both be better able to advise & shall always be ready to
advise {illeg} as I can being most sincerely
[your?] most obedient servant.
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